Ellis and screenwriter Zach Baylin discuss Ellis’ portrayal of Oracene Price, mother of Venus and Serena Williams.
to discuss fleshing out Ellis’ role in a back-and-forth that would ultimately earn each of them a Oscar nomination: she for supporting actress, he for original screenplay.
You were able to collaborate in a way that screenwriters and actors don’t always get to. Talk about that shared effort in making Oracene come to life on the screen.I spent about two weeks with Oracene during the U.S. Open one year. I taped all those interviews and was able to revise the script and her voice based around what her experiences were and some of the really insightful things she said to me. I was able to give Aunjanue those tapes.
From left: Aunjanue Ellis, Demi Singleton, Saniyya Sidney, Mikayla Bartholomew, Layla Crawford, Daniele Lawson and Will Smith as the Williams family in Warner Bros.’Richard and Oracene anticipated what the rise of Venus and Serena was going to mean in terms of representation.
So much of this movie hinges on the pursuit of excellence. Did you connect to the Williamses through your own struggles to succeed in a creative endeavor and to bring your best work out of yourselves?I think of myself as somebody who tries to do work that expands not just the possibility of what women are in our culture, but the truth of what women are in our culture. I do that when I’m off camera. Imagine my delight when I can do that on camera.
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